


The Unwanted Gift

by superemeralds



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: (im gifted too this is vent), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, local dumbass saves the day, might revisit and fix this another day, shadow and tails have a brother moment, tails is gifted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-11 01:50:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16466411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superemeralds/pseuds/superemeralds
Summary: Being gifted is often more of a burden than a blessing. All those responsibilities are building up on Tails and he and everyone around him kinda forget that he's just a little kid.Every thursday night Sonic and Tails have a movie night, but this time there's a special guest.





	The Unwanted Gift

**Author's Note:**

> as always this was not proof-read so sorry for any major errors
> 
> bottom notes have further explanation to the topic of this drabble

Why was he doing this? He didn’t really have an answer to it. The fact he had nothing better to do on a Thursday night? The fact that this was about a little kid and that he apparently had specifically asked for him? The fact that Sonic was the one who asked him for the favour…? No, cross that one off the list.

 

“Shadow I know this sounds weird but Tails and I normally have a movie night on Thursdays to watch the documentaries in the science and culture channel, but my commentary isn’t practically entertaining and he’s been starting to ask me if you could join him because you seem like the type of guy to know about stuff? I know you’re not into hanging out with people, most of all children, but if you could come over in a few minutes that’d be really cool of you.”

“Alright, I’m on my way.”

“Say what?”

 

Ding dong. Ding dong.

 

Sonic jumped up from where he was lying on the couch and laid down the phone he was still holding in his hands. “As fast as expected of that show off.“ he murmured to himself as he approached the door to open it.

However, just as he reached for the doorknob a black hedgehog appeared in the small space between him and the door and he dodged in the last second, surprised at the flash of light.

 

“Chaos, Shadow, I was just at the door, yknow?“ Sonic held up his hands in a jokingly shocked manner.

“Just rang to let you know I‘m here.“ Shadow huffed as he looked around, arms crossed.

“Thanks for doing this, by the way.“ Sonic smiled at him, slightly embarrassed. “I don‘t really understand much and am a horrible conversation partner for him whenever we watch documentaries. Makes me feel real bad I never have answers for his questions, yknow?“ he rubbed the side of his head nervously, trying to make out if it was a good idea to give his rival a friendly pat on the shoulder or if he would be overstepping boundaries.

 

In that moment Shadow uncrossed his arms and gently hit the back of his hand against Sonic‘s chest. “I don‘t mind, don‘t make such a great deal of this. Where is the fox boy, though?“ He made his way to the couch to examine Sonic‘s preparations. Snacks, soda, blankets… Seemed cozy.  
He imagined that he probably had times like this with Maria as well, back when she was still alive on Space Colony ARK; not that he could remember it. Simply the thought of it made him feel less tense and he sat down in the center of the couch, avoiding the corner in which little blue spines were sticking to the side. Obviously that was Sonic’s spot and he didn’t want to intrude.

 

“He always insists on putting on Pjs for this stuff to feel more authentic.” Sonic ripped Shadow out of his thoughts. “Yknow how it is with kids, hehe. He doesn’t _seem_ like it most of the time but he’s still only 8 years old.” The blue hedgehog stood leaning at the staircase, looking up to see if Tails was coming down. “He’s on adventures with me all the time, saves the world and builds those machines and talks science just like Egghead the old fart, so it’s easy to forget that he’s just a kid in the end.” He shrugged. “I didn’t have much of a childhood on my own, so I gotta make sure I’m not depriving him of his.”

“You really care a lot about him.” was all Shadow could reply to that. Sonic was rarely so open, except if something was bugging him and he needed reassurance he was doing the right thing. Their relationship reminded him of what he and Maria had, only that he had been in Tails’ place, and not Sonic’s. “I think you’re doing great. Tails can be happy to have a big brother like you.”

“Aw, thanks Shads!” Sonic chirped as Tails came flying down the stairs.

“Hello, Shadow!” the little fox excitedly greeted Shadow and sat down next to him on the couch. “Thank you so much for joining me today!”

“Sure.” Shadow brought out as he tried to get used to the unbound affection of a child cuddling up in a blanket and leaning on him. He probably did the same to Sonic and didn’t think much about the gesture and who he was dealing with. It was not like he was doing any harm and a child wasn't something the ultimate life form couldn’t deal with so he just took a deep breath and tried to relax.

“I’ll leave ya to it then, call me if you need anything.” Sonic waved and walked up the stairs with a wink.

“Where do you think you’re going, Sonic? Get your spikey butt on the couch.” Shadow pointed to the empty space full of blue spines besides him. He didn’t want to admit it but the thought of being alone with the kid made him very nervous and Sonic gave him a sense of security.

“All… righty?” Sonic cautiously stepped over, grabbed a blanket and sat down next to Shadow, wrapping himself up while keeping his distance as if Shadow was a motion sensor bomb he had to avoid at all costs.

It wasn’t like he was uncomfortable with touching him himself, but he was terrified of Shadow getting angry at him for it. He didn’t want to hurt his feelings and break boundaries that would shatter the little trust the two had build up over time. To be entirely honest with himself, Sonic was surprised enough Shadow agreed to coming over without hesitation in the first place, but seeing him with Tails snuggled up beside him let his worries fade away quickly. It didn’t really matter as long as Tails and Shadow were having fun with this.  
“So what’s the topic today?” Sonic asked while scrambling for the TV remote.

“The universe! The NoFSA announced a triple episode special for tonight in homage to the 10th anniversary of the launch of their ARES probe.” his eyes lit up. “I don’t know much about space yet, but I can’t wait to learn more about the universe. I think if I understand it better, I’ll be able to come up with more effective ways to help people with my inventions.”

Shadow hesitated, but then he put his hand on Tails’ head and ruffled his bangs. “You’ve got your heart at the right spot kid.”  
His determination sounded an awful lot like early journal entries of his late father Professor Gerald, as well as his sister Maria. They were brilliant minds who could’ve done wonderful things for humanity, but now he was all that was left of their legacy.

 

Sonic turned on the TV and grabbed a bag of crisps to start snacking during the commercial break before the documentary would start so he wouldn’t disturb the actual reports.

 

The evening was going rather bumpy with Tails asking Shadow if he’d seen or known about those star systems before and if anything new was visible from the ARK, while all he could answer was “I don’t remember” or “That wasn’t discovered/invented yet”.

Shadow admired Tails’ persistence, staying optimistic and asking new questions over and over even when his efforts were mostly fruitless.

 

After a while Shadow shifted to lean back against the sofa and get completely comfortable. The tension in him had melted away as he also got very into the topics of the documentary. The first reportage was about exoplanets and other star systems, which made him rather uneasy as it reminded him that something similar to the Black Arms incident could happen anytime. He didn’t want to think about it.

The second reportage was about planet earth itself, which was much more interesting to him. The most interesting part was that they tried very hard to describe the planet as if it was from a faraway star system and unknown to the viewers, giving a new perspective to people that lived on earth. However this had always been Shadow’s normal perspective on earth and he felt validated in his unusual experience.  
Tails kept making mental notes on the many scientific and technical things that were explained.

 

Over the course of two documentaries Sonic had emptied all the snacks and eased more into just sitting there, totally tuned out of what was going on on TV and just staring at the ceiling. Or at least he tried to stare this way. Seeing Shadow engaged with the subject and exchanging looks with Tails about scientific things and having small whispering conversations was just… too good to pass up. When would anyone have the honor of seeing Shadow the hedgehog experiencing and freely expressing emotions, most of all positive ones?

 

After a while Sonic started getting sleepy and dozed off leaning onto Shadow, who didn’t seem too bothered with this considering he had Tails tugging on his arm every now and them while he was half laying on his lap.

 

The third documentary was focusing on the many mysteries and unknown things of the universe like black holes and dark matter, but also the fate of life on earth and the entire universe itself.

Normally Tails’ tails were wagging excitedly and he would be bubbly asking questions on the topic, but the more the reportage went on, Shadow noticed they had gotten still and Tails was squeezing his arm.  
After not having spoken for a while Shadow’s ears flicked as he heard a sob. He hesitated for a moment, unfamiliar with having to comfort other people, but he laid a hand on Tails’ shoulder rubbing gently.  
“Are you okay?” He whispered.

The little fox couldn’t make himself answer and only let out a hic.

Shadow promptly got the remote and turned off the TV, all while not disturbing the child that was crying his eyes out on his lap.

“Why are you crying?” he asked gently while trying to figure out if he should rather pet his back or head.

No reply again.

He proceeded to gently stroke his back. “Was the reportage too scary?”

Sonic slowly woke up as the support for his head faded and he slid down to face Shadow’s back.

“Y-yes...” Tails brought out as he curled up his tails and shifted to sit up and hug Shadow.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked as he helped the little boy up into his arms.

“I already knew about it, but I kinda tried not to think about it, because it’s scary and it makes me cry and I can’t because I need to be strong for my friends.” Tails sobbed into Shadow’s chest fur. “I have no time to waste being scared, because I could die any time and I still have so much to accomplish! I can’t die without helping people and making my friends happy…”

Sonic sat up and rubbed his eyes confused. He wanted to comment on that statement but Shadow laid his hand on Sonic’s mouth.

“But that isn’t even the worst thing, because if even the universe dies one day, then what’s the point? If I live a few years longer or not… It doesn’t matter what I accomplish and the things that make me and other people happy are in vain because we all die and the universe dies and there will be no “being” anymore… There’s only a big nothing! Everything is just one big nothing! I know that the present is what counts that that making sure that the people that had the privilege of existing deserve a good life but… time is an illusion and I’ll never get to know how this all ends, it’s all theories that can’t be proven. It’s too scary and I hate that I understand it I hate that I’m smart I hate it so much I wish I was stupid. I wish I was stupid and didn't understand anything.” With this statement Tails started to violently sob into Shadow’s chest, pulling on his fur and squeezing him hard.

Shadow tried his best to gently rub his back and rock back and forth slowly and calm him down.  
He had a point, it was scary and he hated thinking about it. Mainly due to him being immortal, knowing that if he desired to he actually _was_ able to witness the end… It terrified him even more. But he did not want to burden the kid with his own fears and struggles, he needed to comfort and reassure him.

 

Sonic freed himself from Shadow’s grip. “Tails, did you even listen to yourself?” he started.

The little boy peeked over Shadow’s shoulder to his big brother that looked somewhat irritated by his emotional outburst. He hicked and was about to let out another cry as he had the overwhelming fear that Sonic was going to mock him for having such a silly fear.

“As you already said, Tails, it’s important to focus on the here and now and make sure you’re the best you that you can be! Of course it’s scary to think of the unknown big things that we can’t understand, and only because my brain is as capable as dry toast doesn’t mean I don’t think about these things sometimes. It’s super scary. But you know what makes me forget about it?”

 

Shadow and Tails both looked at Sonic intently.

 

“Knowing that tomorrow is another day where I’ll open my eyes and have the entire universe ahead of me and I have the freedom to do whatever I want with my life. I only got this one shot, so better make the best of it and help others make the best of theirs, right? We’re all here to have a good time. No party can last forever, we all gotta go home sometime and sleep. I try to see it more like that, and it’s a little less scary.” Sonic gave them a sincere smile accompanied by a thumbs up.

Tails snuggled into Shadows chest and remained quiet.

 

“Even when his wording wasn’t the most elegant, he does have a point. Of course things don’t matter in the long run, but right here, right now everything matters to us, because we are alive. It would’ve mattered a lot to you had you not met Sonic, right? It wasn’t in vain, just because the universe doesn’t care. You profited from this. Even if fate is something pre-determined, it doesn’t make your decisions any less meaningful. Don’t think of life as something that you can’t influence because everything is already set in stone, but make sure that you make the best possible timeline happen.”  
A gentle smile appeared on shadows face while he explained, having a feeling that Maria had explained exactly that matter to him before.  
“Your giftedness makes you capable of great things and you shouldn’t let it weigh you down and doubt yourself. And most of all shouldn’t you wish for yourself to be “normal” or even “stupid”. I know that your gift isn’t one you got voluntarily, and it’s not one you can reject. But you can make the best of it and use it to your advantage to help make the world a better place.”

“You think I can do that?” Tails asked sheepishly.

“100%, pal!” Sonic said enthusiastically, while wrapping his arm around Shadow. “Just think back to all the amazing things you’ve already accomplished! You can and will do even greater things in life that’s totally out of question.”

Shadow wanted to interrupt but Sonic blabbered on.

“Just please make sure to relax and not get too lost in your work, alright? Live a little and don’t forget to have fun. Not every single thing you do in life has to be productive and for the greater good. It’s good to be super selfish and eat an entire cake by yourself and then lay in a hammock and sleep for 14 hours straight.”

 

Shadow snorted, which make Tails giggle and Sonic speechless.

 

“I think I get it...” Tails whispered while rubbing his eyes dry.

“Let’s distract ourselves before sending Tails off to bed, it’s never good to sleep on such events.” Shadow suggested, not really sure how to change the topic to ease Tails into a better mood and eliminating the thoughts from his head.

“Oh I know, let’s watch an animated movie.” Sonic chirped as he jumped to the big box under the TV that held a lot of DVDs.

“Something that will warm your heart…”

Shadow let out a sigh of relief. Sonic had this under control now.

He leaned back into the sofa with the child in his arms and adjusted his blanket to actually cover him again.

Sonic got done putting in his DVD of choice and jumped back on his spot on the couch next to Shadow. He draped one end of the blanket over Shadows shoulder to which the black hedgehog brought out an “I don’t need this” but Sonic wrapped himself up in the remaining half and snuggled against him gently. “Shh it’s starting. It’s my favourite movie so pay attention.”

 

Not being able to do anything against this situation he found himself in Shadow just faintly chuckled to himself. He couldn’t even dare to have imagined how this evening would go past. It clearly blew all his expectations and Rouge’s prophesies.  
Perhaps he really had come because he was starved of affection and he knew how touchy-feely the blue hedgehog was. But even so, it didn’t matter, because he was content like this and that was all that mattered.

 

With that he leaned onto his blue counterpart and stared at the TV screen to find out more about him while the young fox boy in his arms quickly fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gifted myself so I believe to be authority enough to determine this to be an accurate depiction of a gifted child
> 
> I've read so many statements of people saying they can't accept/believe that tails is only 8 years old because he's so mature or because he's on such dangerous adventures, but those people probably aren't gifted or understand what giftedness does to a child.
> 
> I had my first existential crisis when i was 5 years old and reading about the universe and mass extinction events in the past and got scared that something like that would happen to us.  
> When I was 7 I kept thinking about death and the meaningless of life almost daily for a long period of time.
> 
> i was basically a tiny adult at the age of 10 and i didn't really fit in with other children my age.
> 
> It makes so much sense for tails to be around all those older kids and act like he's one of them even though they are mainly twice his age.


End file.
